I Dreamt Music
by EsmeAmelia
Summary: During the flight to Bespin, Han and Leia get closer with music. Challenge fic inspired by a scene in Blade Runner


AN: I don't own Star Wars - and I don't own Blade Runner either. This short little fic was in response to a challenge where you had to take a different Harrison Ford movie and adapt a scene from it to fit Han and Leia. Here's my result, loosely based on a scene in Blade Runner.

"I Dreamt Music"

By EsmeAmelia

Leia didn't know why she had accepted Han's invitation to show her around his cabin in the Falcon. He had said he had something interesting to show her - and he assured her that this wasn't a scheme to get her to bed him, though she wasn't exactly sure if she trusted him on that. A few weeks ago she probably would have stormed away from him the instant he mentioned his cabin, but ever since that surprise kiss...something was different. They hadn't been fighting as often. Maybe Leia was discovering that he wasn't really as idiotic as she thought...or maybe she was just plain bored from being stuck in this junk pile and wanted something different.

Han was sitting on his bunk, barefoot and vest off, his white shirt undone at the top, exposing his chest hair. Leia raised an eyebrow at him, hoping that he was just getting ready for bed and she wouldn't have to put up with a pathetic ploy to get her to lie with him.

"Hey Your Worship," he said. "Didn't think you'd come."

"What did you want to show me?" Leia said quickly in her no-nonsense voice.

"What, this isn't enough?" Han said, cupping his palm under the bare area of his chest. "Want some more?"

"_NO!"_ Leia shouted, about to storm out of the cabin when Han rose from the bunk and grabbed her arm.

"Com'on Your Worship, can't ya take a joke?" he said.

Leia glared at him. "Is that the only reason you invited me here? To tell a joke?"

"No, honest," said Han, a tiny hint of what sounded like sincerity in his voice. "Look, _here's_ what I wanted to show you."

He extended his arm to the farthest corner of the room, where an elegant black keyboard on a silver stand stood bolted to the wall. Next to the drab atmosphere characteristic of the rest of Han's cabin (and the rest of the Falcon itself), it looked like a priceless jewel. Surely Han couldn't afford something like that - but then Leia reminded herself of his former occupation.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, trying to hide the awe in her voice.

"Stole it from a fancy dealer years ago," said Han. "Was gonna sell it, but never got around to it."

Leia shook her head in fake pity. "What are you going to do now - serenade me?" she said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Han smirked. "Nah, I can't play. I just thought you'd like it."

"Why?"

Han looked at her as if he thought the answer was obvious. "Don't Alderaanians love music?"

"Oh sure, stereotype me," said Leia, though keeping a sarcastic tone was getting difficult.

Han shrugged. "You can do whatever you want with it, sweetheart." He flashed his big grin at her. "Well I'm turnin' in. You wanna play me a lullaby or something?"

Leia rolled her eyes so hard that they hurt.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

While Han was in the refresher, Leia stared at the keyboard. She silently ran her fingers over the keys, absorbing their smoothness. She wondered if it even worked. Since Han had stolen it from a dealer and he couldn't play himself, maybe his decoration was really only a broken-down instrument.

She heard Han exit the refresher and flop down on his bunk, which gave her a strange feeling in her stomach, like she was intruding on him. Was he really comfortable sleeping with her in his cabin? Then Leia found herself grinding her teeth. He'd pretend to be asleep so he could lull her into a false sense of security, maybe to see if she would lie down beside him. The stupid nerfherder. Did he _really_ think she had no self-control?

Something compelled her to look back at the bunk, maybe to make sure he wasn't spying on her - though she had no idea what she wouldn't want him to see. He was lying on his back, on top of the covers, wearing nothing but his pants. She felt her eyes widening when they caught sight of his bare chest, inadvertently moving from his navel to his nipples before she ferociously shook her head, telling herself to snap out of it.

He was breathing deeply and slowly and his closed eyes were creasing in rhythmic time - he certainly _seemed_ to be asleep. She stood still for several minutes, hoping to lull _him_ into a false sense of security if he was pretending to be sleeping. If he was faking it, he'd hopefully grow tired of waiting for her to do something and end up putting himself to sleep.

When she had finally confirmed to herself that he was really asleep, she turned back to face the keyboard. She once more rubbed the keys, briefly closing her eyes and trying to imagine she was home. There was a keyboard like this one at home.

The home that no longer existed.

She swallowed as she opened her eyes, remembering sitting in her father's lap while he played her music. Her fingers moved up and down the keys in the rhythm that his once did, but still not daring to press down on any of them, lest they make no sound and confirm that this was really just a broken useless decoration.

The keys seemed to be calling out to her fingers, wishing that she would push down and let them sing to her, let their song come to life after so much time in stasis. With her father's music still dancing in her head, her finger almost unconsciously pressed on one of the keys, emitting a clear, sweet sound, the sort of sound that she hadn't heard since she was home on her planet.

That little sound was all that was needed to sweep the rest of her fingers into the dance that Bail's fingers once did. The lessons he gave her long ago shot through her fingers, creating their favorite song that they once played together in a different time, in a different place, and yet when the song entered Leia's ears again, she felt that time and place here. She felt Alderaan in this tiny cabin, she felt her father's hands guiding her through the music.

But the song abruptly ceased with the sound of the bunk creaking. Her nerves tightened, waiting for whatever would follow. Had Han heard that? And if he had, would he mistake it for her serenading him? Leia suddenly felt nauseous.

The bunk made more noise, followed by the sticky footsteps of bare feet across a hard floor, growing louder until she felt Han right behind her. She swallowed several times, her stomach flipping as she prepared herself for whatever he might ask her.

"I dreamt music," he said in a drowsy voice. "Was that you?"

Leia sighed, returning to silently running her fingers across the keys. "My father used to play. He taught me when I was a small child. I wasn't sure if I would remember how."

"It's beautiful," said Han.

Leia slowly turned around to face him. "It was my father's favorite song."

Han swallowed and glanced at the floor. "You really miss him, don't you?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Han stepped past her and touched the keys. "I'm sorry, I didn't know this would..."

"Don't be sorry," Leia quickly interrupted. "It was very nice, actually. Thank you for sharing it."

Han looked back at her as his mouth grew into that large grin. "Am I hearin' things, or did you just actually _thank_ me?"

Leia groaned. "Han, please..."

"Would you like to play that again?" Han asked in a gentle voice. "I mean, I'd like to hear it when I'm awake."

After moments of silence passed, Leia still gave no verbal answer - she merely stepped back up to the keyboard and let her fingers once more carry her back to Alderaan...and serenade the one who had brought her there.

THE END


End file.
